The Budget Planner Blog

I woke up yesterday morning and opened up my fridge. It was completely empty bar a few cheese slices, half a pint of milk and some random condiments. But instead of being disappointed, I was thrilled!

The empty fridge signalled that our weekly shopping plan is working. Before we started planning our weekly shop, my girlfriend and I would buy all sorts of things that we just wouldn’t eat and end up throwing out. Not only a waste of food but a waste of money.

Now before we go shopping each week, we take 5 mins to decide what meals we are going to have. This involves selecting meals from our ‘Repertoire list’ (The list of meals we like and can cook) and then work out what ingredients we will need. We then add on the items from our blackboard in our kitchen, which we write on when we have run out of a general item, e.g. tomato puree, cooking oil.

We don’t stick rigidly to the list, there is always something we haven’t thought of or that takes our fancy. We have though reduced the amount of food we throw out and probably a few extra £’s.

Some more useful food shopping tips.

1. Don’t go on an empty stomach – everything looks appetising!
2. Check the reduced item shelves and fridges. If you can find reduced meat in there buy it and freeze it.
3. If you collect reward points, remember to re-use your old carrier bags (we use old Ikea bags), some supermarkets will give you extra points for doing this.

Labels: food budgeting, food planning, shopping budget, shopping plan